POPULATION: One-child policy for Australia, says green group

by Bill Muehlenberg

News Weekly, May 16, 2009

Australia's population should be slashed from 22 million to seven million, an environmental lobby group has said. Bill Muehlenberg reports.

With increasing regularity, our self-appointed intellectual elites are coming out with over-the-top proposals to save the planet. In their zeal to rescue Mother Earth, these green fanatics are quite happy to wipe out much of the human population to achieve their goals.

I have noted many recent examples of this in News Weekly, and now we have yet another case in point.

Here is how Sydney's Daily Telegraph (April 22, 2009) reported the latest case of green madness. The short news item goes as follows:

"Australia should consider having a one-child policy to protect the planet, an environmental lobby group said.

"Sustainable Population Australia said slashing population was the only way to avoid 'environmental suicide'.

"National president Sandra Kanck wants Australia's population of almost 22 million reduced to seven million to tackle climate change.

"And restricting each couple to one baby, as China does, was 'one way of assisting to reduce the population. It's something we need to throw into the mix,' the former Democrats parliamentarian said."

Australian Democrats

Would you believe that this woman is a former parliamentarian in South Australia? Just what are these people thinking? No wonder the Australian Democrats are now defunct.

As is always the case with such loopy proposals, one must ask a few hard questions. Will Ms Kanck lead the way by personal example? How in fact will she bump herself off? Will it be a suicide pill? The hangman's noose? Or perhaps just a gun? But no, the greenies want to ban all guns.

Or does she have in mind people other than herself? That in fact is the case. She has no intention of leading by example here, but she fully expects other Australians to take her advice. So she wants a full two-thirds of Australians culled, but she must remain alive to ensure that the job is done properly. How very kind of her.

Then she wants us to emulate China of all places. Never mind that its coercive one-child policy - along with forced sterilisations and abortions - is producing tremendous social problems in China. If a family is forced to have just one child, they will usually opt for a boy.

Thus China has a huge problem with gender imbalance at the moment, and parents are deeply worried that there are not enough females around to marry their sons. Prostitution is doing very well in such a climate.

This is just another case of a politician who has little understanding of the real world. Sandra Kanck is living in a green la-la land and is devoted to radical green ideology, which is often quite prepared to resort to the harshest measures to cull the human population, if only this can save the planet.

Of course, if people like her get their way, soon there won't be many people around to enjoy the planet. But she probably thinks that is a good thing anyway. Humanity never gets a good rap from these green ideologues.

It is bad enough when current politicians come up with this sort of nonsense. It is worse when ex-politicians get into the act, telling us what is best for us, even if that "best" means knocking off the majority of mankind.

With friends of the planet like this, I would hate to see its enemies.

- Bill Muehlenberg is a commentator on contemporary issues, and lectures on ethics and philosophy. His website CultureWatch is at:www.billmuehlenberg.com